Method:

Prep the noodles according to the packaging instructions.

Heat up a wok or pan over high heat. When it’s heated, add the oil to the wok/pan. Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, follow by the mushrooms, and then add in the cabbage and carrot, stir continuously. Add the noodles into the wok/pan, follow by the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, water, white pepper, and pinch of salt. Stir back and forth and toss the noodles, for about 1 minute. Add the bean sprouts, stir to combine well. As soon as the bean sprouts are cooked, add the scallion, stir a few more times, dish out and serve immediately with the garlic chili sauce.

I have many vegetarian/vegan readers and many of them requested me to post more vegetarian recipes. The truth is, I love vegetarian food. Back in Penang, Malaysia, my family follows a ritual of fasting and having vegetarian diet for at least three days to celebrate a local festivity. While growing up, every year I would look forward to being vegetarian and eating vegetarian food as my aunt and late mother would belt out dishes upon dishes of fantastic and mouthwatering dishes. We would also change all the utensils and serve wares during the fasting/vegetarian festival. It was always so much fun, eating better, healthier, with only the simplest of ingredients.

Anyway, I made this vegetable chow mein a while ago, when I made my chicken chow mein. I had some leftover noodles and I decided to make vegetable chow mein the next day. Many of my recipes on Rasa Malaysia can be adapted to vegetarian by opting out the meat, and replaced with vegetarian/vegan protein of your choice, in this case, I used mushrooms in lieu of meat.

To jazz up the dish, I served it with dollops of garlic chili sauce. It was simple, delicious, and utterly satisfying. If you are a vegetarian/vegan, you can learn the basic of Asian noodles following my vegetable chow mein recipe here.

Method:

Prep the noodles according to the packaging instructions.

Heat up a wok or pan over high heat. When it’s heated, add the oil to the wok/pan. Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, follow by the mushrooms, and then add in the cabbage and carrot, stir continuously. Add the noodles into the wok/pan, follow by the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, water, white pepper, and pinch of salt. Stir back and forth and toss the noodles, for about 1 minute. Add the bean sprouts, stir to combine well. As soon as the bean sprouts are cooked, add the scallion, stir a few more times, dish out and serve immediately with the garlic chili sauce.

Method:

Prep the noodles according to the packaging instructions.

Heat up a wok or pan over high heat. When it’s heated, add the oil to the wok/pan. Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, follow by the mushrooms, and then add in the cabbage and carrot, stir continuously. Add the noodles into the wok/pan, follow by the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, water, white pepper, and pinch of salt. Stir back and forth and toss the noodles, for about 1 minute. Add the bean sprouts, stir to combine well. As soon as the bean sprouts are cooked, add the scallion, stir a few more times, dish out and serve immediately with the garlic chili sauce.

Cook’s Notes:

1. Prepping the noodles involve rinsing the noodles thoroughly with cold water, and then drained before cooking. Some noodles involve soaking the noodles with hot water, drained before cooking. Please follow the packaging instructions to get the best results. If you use dried egg noodles, please also follow the instructions on the back of the package.

2. Egg noodles, or Chinese chow mein are labeled differently: chow mein, steamed chow mein, pan-fried chow mein, egg noodles, Hong Kong egg noodles, etc. Please refer to the picture above when choosing your chow mein. The picture on the left is the noodles out of the package, and the picture on the right is the noodles after prepping (but before cooking).

3. You can use any mushrooms of your choice. If you use dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in warm water about 30 minutes to soften them, and then squeeze the water dry, before cutting.